


Essential

by DobbyRocksSocks



Series: ThunderIron [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: But definitely heading that way, Exhaustion, Mission Gone Wrong, Multi, Probably more preslash than actual romance, Sharing a Bed, Thor Loves cuddles too, Tony Loves Cuddles, Tony is a softie.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-21 04:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17636180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DobbyRocksSocks/pseuds/DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: Forced to share a room, and a bed, with Thor, Tony needs to find a way to fight the exhaustion so he doesn't embarrass himself. It's his best kept secret after all; Tony Stark is a cuddler!





	Essential

Tony was so ready to just fall face first onto the nearest bed. He left Steve to check them into the hotel, and leant against a nearby column, trying his hardest to make it look like it wasn’t the only thing holding him up. 

The rest of the team lingered around him, all looking about tired as he felt. It had been a clusterfuck of a mission from the get go, and they were all so done. When S.H.I.E.L.D chose to make that the night that they couldn’t pick the team up, Tony was sure someone was fucking with them on purpose. 

After what seemed like forever but was probably only a few minutes in reality, Steve approached them. 

“The good news is that they have rooms. The bad news, is that they only have three. And each room only has one bed.” 

Tony barely managed to hold a groan in. That wasn’t good at all. They paired off automatically. Clint and Natasha stole one of the key cards immediately and headed straight for the elevator. Steve slung his arm around Bucky and held the last card out to Tony. 

Tony took it, seeing no other choice, and followed the rest to the elevator. 

He opened the door to the room minutes later and painfully ignored the very inviting looking bed to escape to the ensuite bathroom instead. He only paused long enough to drop his hold-all by the door. 

He stripped and took a shower, gently patting at the injuries he came across. Thankfully there was nothing too bad, though a hospital bed might have been preferable to this. 

He considered waiting for the mirror to desteam so he could shave in an effort to stave off having to climb into bed, but a knock on the door beat him to it. Instead, he wrapped a towel tightly around his waist and opened the door. 

Thor looked at him carefully, his head tilted to the side. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, his rumbling tone low, proving that even the god was tired. 

Tony nodded and swallowed hard. “I’m good, bathroom’s all yours.” 

He stepped past Thor, determinedly not looking at the god. Seconds later, the door closed with a soft snick and Tony let out a breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding. 

He crouched to open his bad, wincing at the pain in his ribs. That wasn’t fun. Still, at least they actually had bags containing necessities. Not that Tony would ever tell Steve it was a good idea to have back up bags on the jets, the smug fucker wouldn’t let him live it down. 

If Tony had slept anytime in the last few days, he was sure he’d have been able to fix the quinjet, but Steve had taken one look at him and shaken his head, ordering them to a nearby hotel to get some rest. 

Clint had suggested they just sleep on the jet, but even Tony wasn’t that reckless. If even one of their enemies had managed to escape the fight, they could easily come back for the jet in the dead of night. 

Tony pulled on underwear, and then his sweats and a tank top, feeling better once he was clothed. 

He glared at the bed, as though he could split it into two singles with just the power of his mind. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Thor. Of course he liked Thor. He  _ really  _ liked Thor. But Tony purposefully didn’t share a bed, ever. He was a  _ cuddler.  _ It was embarrassing, but whenever he fell asleep, if anyone was nearby, Tony found them and snuggled as close as he could. 

Tony was quite sure the God of Thunder wouldn’t appreciate Tony sprawling all over him at the first opportunity.

The problem, was that Tony didn’t want to hurt Thor. It wasn’t that Tony didn’t want to share with Thor, it was that he didn’t particularly want to share with  _ anyone.  _

Now he was going to have to find a way to lie down without actually sleeping, and with as tired as he was, he didn’t know how. 

He climbed onto the bed, pulling the blankets up to his waist as he leant back against the headboard. Even sitting up, he struggled to keep his eyes open. He tried to focus on his tablet, but barely managed a minute before he put it on the bedside table with a noise of disgust. He couldn’t even make his eyes focus on the screen. 

Thor stepped out of the bathroom in nothing but a pair of shorts, his damp hair messy. He offered Tony a tired smile as he approached the bed, pulled the sheets back on the opposite side and slid in beside Tony. 

He looked up at Tony expectantly, and Tony lay down, his head rejoicing as it hit the pillow. Thor turned the lamp off and shifted around, getting himself comfortable. He laid on his side, facing Tony, his hand resting in between the two sets of pillows. 

“Goodnight,” Thor murmured softly, his eyes closing almost immediately. 

“Night, Thor,” Tony replied drowsily, his eyes closing. He forced them open, but even he wasn’t fooled. The time between his blinks got longer and longer, and forcing his eyes open for harder and harder. 

Thor moved beside him, and then a warm hand was clutching at Tony’s bicep and he could feel warm breath on his shoulder in calming intervals. Tony turned his head to see Thor watching him with sleepy eyes. 

“Sleep,” Thor said, tugging Tony closer. 

“I—“

“I know you like to cuddle, Tony,” Thor said quietly. “I enjoy it.”

Tony blinked at him for a long moment. “We’re going to talk about why you know that tomorrow,” he muttered eventually, giving into the promised warmth of the other man's arms. He burrowed himself into the welcoming embrace and closed his eyes. 

Thor’s hand made three slow passes through Tony’s still damp hair before Tony was out like a light. 

… 

“How did you know?”

Thor looked up from the book he was reading, and patted the sofa beside him. They were back home in the Tower. Tony had meant to ask Thor when he’d woken up, but the embarrassment had refused to let the words passed his throat. 

He hadn’t even meant to ask now, but seeing Thor sitting in the soft lighting of the living room had allowed the words to fall from Tony’s lips without conscious thought. 

He sat down beside Thor, yelping when an arm stretched out around him, pulling his closer. 

“You were asleep on the sofa one evening and I sat beside you. It did not take long for you to seek me out. I enjoyed it, Anthony. I do not understand the Midgardian way of avoiding touch. On Asgard, people are much freer with their affections.”

Tony leant deeper against Thor, revelling in the comfort. 

“I think, for some, craving touch can be seen as a weakness.”

Thor frowned and his arm tightened minutely. “That, is ridiculous,” he announced with a shake of his head. “Touch is an essential part of life.”

Tony snorted. “I’ve got by just fine without it.”

Thor shook his head. “But are you  _ happy  _ without it? There is a big difference between happiness and getting by.”

“I… don’t really look at things that way, Thor,” Tony admitted after a minute, his voice little more than a whisper. “After everything I’ve gotten wrong in my life, it doesn’t… me being happy isn’t a factor in getting things done. Maybe one day, I’ll have made up for… everything, and I’ll be able to work on happiness then.” 

Thor huffed his displeasure. At one time or another, all of Tony’s teammates had tried to talk him out of his need for redemption, but it fell on deaf ears every time. He knew what he’d caused, he knew what he had to make up for; even if the team were willing to forget, Tony wasn’t. 

“Then, if you should ever require, or even just want, the comfort of another, I beg you come to me,” Thor said eventually. “I enjoy the closeness, Anthony. To me, it would be a pleasure, not a punishment.”

Tony thought to refuse, but he couldn’t deny how good it felt to be pressed into Thor’s side. 

“I… thanks, Thor.”


End file.
